Capture devices such as video recorders and still picture cameras can capture, digitize, and store sound and/or images, but are typically limited in their ability to organize, process, and send the information once captured. In applications where, for example, distributed cameras are regularly capturing content, processing and organizing the captured content can be important, particularly if specific portions of the captured content will be subsequently sent and/or retrieved.
Captured content can be organized and processed using post processing techniques that include the extraction and association of metadata. Metadata can be defined based on the captured content, defined using collateral data, and associated with the captured content.
Metadata extraction and association, however, are typically not performed in real-time or substantially real-time. Also, many of the components used to perform the post-capture processing have life cycles that are much shorter than that of a typical capture device. Thus, a need exists for an apparatus with interchangeable components and/or subsystems that can extract, process and send, in real-time or substantially real-time, metadata associated with captured content and/or the captured content.